


your eyes, they no longer search for truth

by tampa_bae_frightening (steven_damnkos)



Category: Dredd (2012), Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-03
Updated: 2016-09-03
Packaged: 2018-08-12 16:43:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7941697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/steven_damnkos/pseuds/tampa_bae_frightening
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Techie's eyes hurt. Matt helps.</p>
            </blockquote>





	your eyes, they no longer search for truth

**Author's Note:**

> oh my GOD  
> well, i've been in the techienician trash pit for about 24 hours and I've already cranked this out  
> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ 
> 
> i've been kylux trash for ages and still haven't written about my favorite space assholes. 
> 
> anyway, kylux is very minor here, just vaguely implied. 
> 
> title from [coconut dracula by islander](https://youtu.be/q4rD0FlVsGA)
> 
> working title was 'rose tint my world' because I'm such a queer trash can that I need to quote rocky horror in my everyday life. 
> 
> pls be kind to ur environment and star destroyer. place this trash along with myself in the nearest garbage chute when ur done. 
> 
> full disclosure, I don't even know what this trash is. beta'ed by the always lovely Roanoke ♡

     Matt watched Techie quietly, both of them sitting in their darkened quarters; Techie constantly making little abortive movements towards his eyes. With a sigh, he sat down his datapad, taking a moment to carefully rub his eyes. Techie let out a small sound, somewhere between pain and relief.

     Matt tilted his head, sliding closer. "They hurt, don't they?" He reached out and carefully placed his fingertips on the bright red eyelids. Techie shivered lightly under his touch, but nodded carefully, not wanting to dislodge Matt's hands. Matt traced his thumbs oh so gently over the inflamed skin, smiling at the soft hum emanating from Techie's chest. He massaged the area carefully, losing himself in the motions, eyes falling shut as he worked.

     The pair sat there for a long time, lights still low, room silent except for the little noises Techie made. Matt found massaging his boyfriend's eyes as relaxing he did, grateful to be able to help. Knowing Techie felt good made Matt feel better, no matter what mood he'd been in before. After a while, Matt felt Techie's slightly smaller hands on his, and he opened his eyes.

      "Matt." Techie's voice was soft, betraying how tired he was. Matt moved his hands from Techie's eyes, cupping his cheeks. Techie smiled, opening his eyes. "Thank you..." Matt shrugged bashfully, leaning over to kiss the fading old brand partly hidden under a curtain of brilliant orange hair. He continued to rub the hollows under Techie's eyes, sighing.

     "Wh-why are they always so red?" Matt cringed at how loud his voice seemed in the quiet space. He was upset with himself with breaking the comfortable silence, unable to resist opening his big mouth. Techie smiled sadly, squeezing Matt's hands.

     "They've been like this since," Techie took a calming breath, "since _she_ tore out my real ones with her filthy hands. I don't think my body took to the mechanical eyes well. I fear a long simmering infection, or bruises that will never fade. Sometimes, if they hurt too bad, I go to the medbay and they give me something for the pain, and it helps a little, but nothing has ever helped with the redness." Matt let out a quiet sound, frowning.

     "I can't believe someone could be so cruel, to do that to you." Matt gently kissed Techie's eyelids, thick fingers combing through deceptively soft hair. He needed a shower, but Matt was unwilling to break their peace again to shadow Techie down to the public showers for their sector. The sonic in their tiny 'fresher rarely worked, and Matt didn't know how to fix it. Despite how modern and efficient the Finalizer was meant to be, some parts of it were just shit. Hux paid their problems no mind, focused instead on the ship's power and anything with the misfortune to fall into an angry Kylo Ren's path.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Techie could be a mess, but he was Matt's mess. Matt wasn't as clueless as everyone thought he was, and he certainly wasn't deaf. He heard all the things that the other techs whispered about him and Techie behind their backs. During his shift earlier, he'd heard the word 'gremlin' thrown around in reference to Techie, used by two people gossiping on the other side of the console he'd been repairing. He'd frowned at that, not sure what they'd meant, until one had mentioned Techie's hair.

      'It's always so dirty looking. Does he ever shower?' 'I don't know. He rarely comes out of their room.' 'Maybe that Matt is weird enough that he doesn't mind...'

     Matt had gripped his tools tighter, face pinched and breathing heavy. It took a lot for him to not smash the console, already in recovery from being KR'ed. He'd forced himself to finish his repairs, unwilling to meet the eyes of the two who had been talking about him. Grateful for the end of his shift, Matt stormed back to the locker room after putting away his tools, angrily stripping out of his ridiculous orange vest and ugly gray jumpsuit so he could shower. He let the shower strip away some of his anger, not wanting to take it back to the small room he shared with Techie.

     It blew Matt away how these strangers talked about people they didn't even know so carelessly, calling Techie a gremlin and suggesting that something was wrong with Matt for dealing with Techie's eccentricities. Techie didn't actively dodge showers, he would just get so wrapped up in his work and forget. When he did remember, his anxiety made him too uneasy to go in alone; leftovers from a life of being treated so poorly. That's really what got at Matt the most, the lack of sympathy for someone who had been abused and mutilated. He angrily scrubbed at his hair, accidentally yanking out a few strands. Matt let out a grunt, rinsing off with a scowl. He dried off, changing into his sweater and jeans before haphazardly dragging a brush through his tangled curls. Matt shoved the brush back into his locker, taking a few breaths to calm down.

On his way back to his and Techie's shared quarters, Matt had stopped by the mess hall to grab some energy bars for Techie, knowing that he'd probably been too distracted by work and had forgotten to eat again. Matt would relax more once he saw Techie eat. 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Matt? Matty? Are you with me?" Techie gently patted Matt's cheeks, laughing. Matt let out a soft hum, coming back into himself. 

"Sorry... I got a little lost in thought." Matt chewed on his lip for a moment. "I heard someone call you a gremlin today." His voice came out a little too loud and forceful again, making him want to cringe away from himself. Techie tilted his head quizzically, making no sound apart from the soft whirring of his eyes as they refocused. He was squinting in confusion, looking up at Matt, who ploughed on with his statement. "I think they meant it as something derogatory, trying to say that you were dirty and weird. Gremlins are small creatures who are good at taking apart machinery." Matt wrapped one of his huge hands around one Techie's thin, delicate wrists, rubbing a thumb over the tendons. "You're certainly small, and really good with computers. If you're a gremlin, then you're my gremlin, and I love you." Matt looked down at Techie's small wrist, chewing on his lip again. 

A brilliantly happy smile had spread across Techie's face, his cybernetic pupils dilating audibly. "Matt... that's so... kind. You're so sweet..." He gripped Matt's shoulders, eagerly planting kisses all over his face, accidentally knocking his glasses askew. Matt righted them with a laugh, brushing Techie's hair off his shoulders. Techie blushed gently, kissing the corner of Matt's lips. "I love you so much. Thank you, for everything... For my eyes, for the food, for taking care of me." 

Matt silenced him with a soft kiss. "It's okay, I love you too." He carefully slid farther back on the bed, holding Techie close while he moved the abandoned datapad to the table. "You should rest. It's late and you've had a long day. I don't want your eyes to start hurting again..." The redhead just nodded, allowing Matt to maneuver him under their blanket, hair fanning out across the pillow as he laid down. Matt leaned over and dimmed the lights completely, taking off his glasses to lay them beside the datapad, crawling under the blanket with Techie and curling around him. He pressed his nose into Techie's hair, grimacing a little. "Hey, Tech? Wanna grab a shower with me in the morning? I'm off shift and we can get breakfast." Techie let out an affirmative sound, cuddling closer to Matt as his breathing evened out. Matt smiled, closing his eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed this mess. 
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> come find me on [tumblr](http://steven-damnkos.tumblr.com) to yell about gays in space


End file.
